In oilfield recovery operations, enhanced recovery operations can involve providing additional energy into a wellbore to enhance the recovery of hydrocarbons (e.g., oil or other oilfield products) from a formation. Enhanced recovery operations may be desirable (e.g., cost effective) when the benefit form the additional recovery of hydrocarbons outweighs the cost of providing additional energy to the wellbore. Thus, it can be desirable to increase the efficiency and efficacy of enhanced recovery operations.
One enhanced recovery operation is secondary recovery, in which an external fluid, such as water or gas, is injected into a formation to ensure the formation pressure is maintained higher than the pressure of the producing wellbore. Another enhanced recovery operation is tertiary recovery, in which injection of other products can be used to increase hydrocarbon production. These methods can include polymer flooding, steam injection, in-situ combustion, and microbial enhanced oil recovery. Polymer flooding can modify the surface tension between displacing and displaced fluids, and possibly alter the trajectory of the injected fluids to boost production. Steam injection and in-situ combustion can heat the hydrocarbons to increase its mobility by reducing its viscosity. Microbial enhanced oil recovery can be used to treat and break down hydrocarbon chains to make them easier to recover.